Coconut ‘Yogurt’ Chicken Skewers

Recipes posted a year ago:

• Margarita Chili
• Baked Kokanee with Leeks
• Grilled Chicken Chile Avocado Melt

These grilled chicken skewers have a great mix of flavors, and the prep is really easy.  If you don’t have metal skewers, then be sure to soak your bamboo skewers at least 30 minutes prior to using so they won’t burn when on the grill.

Gather Up:

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1-3/4 cups coconut milk
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems coarsely chopped
• 1 shallot, coarsely chopped
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp whole anise seed
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
• 2″ piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

Start out with a blender or mid-sized food processor.  Don’t underestimate the volume of all your ingredients (I did the first time, and this little processor we’ve got didn’t get it done).  Add in the coconut milk, rice vinegar, shallot, ginger, lemon juice, and all the spices.  Blend to combine and to puree the shallot and ginger.

Add in the cilantro and pulse a few times to fully combine and to mince the cilantro up a bit more (you still want it to be a bit chunky).  Reserve about 1-1/2 cups of the marinade in a sealed container in the refrigerator to use as a dipping sauce.

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise to make 8 pieces roughly 1-1/2″ wide by 3/4″ thick.  Thread them onto metal skewers and arrage half of them in a single layer in a 13×9 glass baking dish.

Spread about half of the marinade mixture  over the first layer, then lift them slightly to allow some to spread underneath.  Arrange the remaining skewers on top and spread the rest of the marinade (make sure you’ve still got some reserved in the fridge) over the top.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to about 4 hours.

Start the grill and begin heating to medium-high heat (about 380 degrees).  Pull the chicken out of the fridge to allow to come closer to room temperature as the grill warms up.  Once the grill is at temperature, cook the skewers until they reach an internal temp of 160 degrees – about 15~20 minutes on a indirect grill or 10~15 minutes over direct heat.

Serve warm with some of the reserved sauce spooned over the top, or eat right off the skewers using the reserved sauce for dipping.  Dig in!